New-York tribune., 1887-12-27
NO DANGER FROM THE RAFT
pprrav OF THE SEARCHING VESSELS.


uoMMASuEx M'CALLA TELLS WHAT HE lo'N'-
HIS REAssCHING STATEMENTS.
Tho United States steamer Enterprise returned
m the Navy Yard yesterday morning from Acr
soorcb for the big raft Commander McCalla hav-
..a.i.,cd himself that the derclict has gone to
niec,s and that the scattered logs are no longer
ro,.o,,s donecr TO navigation. A TrIBUNE re-
,ortor s,w the commander on board hls ship last
riobt md in reply to Il question as to the result
Of his voyage he said
"It was briefly stated in the dispatches which
sent to Admiral Oherardi from New-Londoh ana
which appeared in to-day's TRIBUNE hNeryoouS
may rest secure that the monster raft will cause
no trouble"
aHow far did you go?" asked the reporter
1--WE ran direct to the vicinity in when 'hc
raft was abandoned, latitude 4O' 10 Nor'h anu
LONGITUDE 7Oe G. west, and thence maze d couiSo
southeast by south 115 miles. IhiS cou'se was
adopted On account Of the prevailing hor.h"eS'-
crlv winds which ! calculated, would drlNe inc
raft south of east in spite OF the hOr'herH cur
rents also had in mind the statement maze IS
the mate of the Miranda TO the cleco 'h"V '"o
raft had begun to break up before thc s''"nier
left her. and believed from the first thac we
should find nothing but fragments III i"c'' IL
,vould he physically impossible Tor mass o' 'ii'i
Der such as that was to hang togeth'r iof in'',
thon a few days. Take, for instance, bundle OF
sticks: no matter how well 1t may DC l"s'eno"
torcther. as soon as few of the sticks are taken
ont or Income loosencd it is easily shaken apart
rIrILE HAHN ArrRrUrNpEp.
aT1o strain to which the raft was subjected pS
tho srrginc Of the heavy seas was sunlcl'ho W
wrench il 10 pieces in a very short tlme' HN'n i
,rrnbcr Of the logs are still attached by ch'inS
or bawsers and ship would run against III. III '"'S
would not be likely to do serious harh o''"',,
they vould not present rigid obstacle nut "'".u
rctreat when struck watcrloggod N'>s'I N'u ."
no a uu.b IN orc dangerous object TO haNlS''''"
than the raft even if intact; ana yet th'rc ",'
ranr, Of ,he former floating about the sea Wiiich
have not excited a tithe OF the aPpr'"'''o''"
caused by this bugaboo from Nova Scou"'
"We saw no logs until we turned pacN 'o""'"
.ho ror+bv,cst and steamed about twenty miles
from our furhcst point to the sou'nr'N'
first one we met was small stick sWashihg ",ons
torord the southeast with It's smaller tIV l"iO
most II soon became evident that 'iie Lui @ l, no
had travelled furthest as we did ny' % Srf Idri,rn
ones til some time after. MI were pe'is
10 NV We moIr zirzag course through the rcsion
/, ,,bicb thev were floating. and )uut'u I'.n m
what saw that they were were ,,iIos No two of
I'm, yvcrc alike 50 TINT their natural !,n"'noA A
,ros to soralatc being acted upon ny Nlh"N ~ ,"o
tO n
- ,,-o Cound two or three about lou or
tot ono,4 hut generally speaking th'y "'Ir 't''
t,ibuted about ut intervals Of Quar''r w. tr.bor
milo and every hour will carry ,r,,' vessel 70
epa,f until il will be rare 'h'"o -N'
meet with one OF them. -
%rARs WHOLLY CNForNpFN
"Is there any danger TO small craft iIo"i WV
rsions with such floating timDcrS
aYo NOR, than there would be TO your ioo' II
,o, knocked it against a lead pencil lying iooS'S
,,on tbe Goor The fears expressed III o'i'"'', ,
charters are wholly unfounded Tor s,ri,,c c' thr
qi % birh rate Of speed should STRIKE lnc
trHst loo in the raft lying at right ahgIe1 @ -
her path she would break u % III tMo ~ ~ bcrsolf
aside without the sllghtesO ua,l"5r rribt onole n
Tonched hy vessel at other than rIIl, ra;nt
IoosS loo in the water would scarcely rub the PAM
l@2S' Off.S i0S i" ''' " ,,.. al ,rho have been
hon va ON account Of friends al sea whose
eb{n MIGHT rnn afoul Of the monster toat ol lgss
for as of the men on the n ,mrv man
I viii cav and knows thoroughly what ne - 'a4N
ing about
1ur rrTIRN OF TIE GUTTER GRANT
The reNenue cutter Grant steamed i"'0 FV'
Yesterday and swung into the North NNV'' II
TO Hobollcn Having learned OF the result u uIo
search of the Enterprise Captain Davis "' o'''
returned - A..
orYoiu,cd that the raft had broken up. lie had
raaiiej4 he aid, upon the faith of Mr. Robertson
the protector of the raft. that the ohdlns N".n .h
hold TIE logs together However, he "c[IP''G Gnerv
e,;u adbnrcd his announced intention 10 seht
enotber raft from Nova Scotia in june next m,
&c Tho first failure | have had with raits S',u
10 ",nd tbot IS due to the hlundcrs % the cap' IN
of the Miranda. ] never intended thht ~" rh..
shonId lc started ont in December. thinK 1ncrc i
viii ho no difficulty in bringing such ratt shlelg
% +b;e ror- with the proper management -
nr Icarv stiil holds the owners OF the Mlraho"
responsible for The loss: